Sewing machine



Sept. 15, 1942. F. M. LEE

SEWING MACHINE Filed July 20, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l I IIEE INVENTOR.

FRED M.LEE Mia-Ax 4 m FIG.2.

ATTORNEYS F. M. LEE

SEWING MACHINE Sept. 15, 1942.

Filed July 20, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 L m INVENTOR.

w FRED ".LEE FIG.7. mm, Wmw

ATTORNEYS Sept. 15, 1942. F} M. LEE 2,295,851

SEWING MACHINE Filed July 20., 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 TNVENTO R. FRED M.LEE

I m W+ M9 5 ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 15, 1942 Tijii'i' ()FFECE SEWING MACHINE Fred M. Lee, Detroit, Mich, assignor to American Lady Corset Company, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Application July 20, 1939, Serial No.

8 Claims. 112-405) This invention relates generally to sewing machines and more particularly to machines of that type for sewing fastening elements, such as hooks, eyes, buttons, buckles, Clasps, etc., to material.

In sewing fastening elements to cloth or other material the needle is reciprocated transversely, as well as vertically, to form stitches having bights encircling a bar-like portion of the fastening element to secure the latter to the material. During the stitching. operation, the material and the fastening element are reciprocated longitudinally to enable the stitching to traverse a desired length of the bar of the fastening element. To insure proper registration of the stitches with the bar of the fastening element, it is essential that the latter be properly positioned upon the carriage relative to the needle.

Accordingly, it is one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a feeding device for holding the fastening element in the proper position relative to the needle. It is also an important object of the invention to equip the feeding device with means for holding a plurality of fastening elements adapted to be successively moved into proper position for sewing the latter to the material. This enables the operator to insert a fastening element into one part of the feeding device while a fastening element on another part of the device is being sewed to the material. In this manner a considerable saving of time is effected since the feeding device can be immediately shifted to bring a new fastening element into registration with the needle; The invention also contemplates providing means upon the feeding device for accurately positioning the fastening elements thereon and to provide means for resiliently holding the fastening elements on the device. In addition, means are provided for moving the feeding device toward and away from the material to compensate for material of various thicknesses.

In order to insure the proper location of the fastening element onthe material, it is necessary to properly locate the material upon the carriage. Furthermore, when cooperating fastening elements, such as a hook and an eye, are being sewed to the same or to separate pieces of material, they must be respectively sewed in complementary position to insure proper registration with each other. invention to provide guide means for properly positioning the material and also to provide guide means adapted to insure the proper registration of cooperating fastening elements.

Other objects of the invention are to provide It is, therefore, another object of the shearing mechanism for cutting the thread after the stitching operation and to construct the shearing mechanism to provide clearance for fastening elements having a laterally projecting part, as well as for fastening elements which are substantially fiat.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, particularly when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a sewing machine embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a portion of the construction shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of Figure 2, with certain parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Figure 4 is a section taken swbstantially on the plane indicated by the line 4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section taken substantially on the :plane indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a section taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 66 of Figure 5';

Figure 7 is a plan view of a portion of the feeding device, showing the parts thereof in disassembled relation;

Figures 8, 9 and 10 are sections taken substantially on the planes indicated by the lines 8-8, 99 and Ill-l0 of Figure 2;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan View similar to Figure 3 showing a feeding device adapted to accommodate hooks;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary front elevation, partly in section, illustrating the guide means for registering cooperating fastening elements;

Figure 13 is an elevation of a portion of a garinent having cooperating fastening elements selcured thereto by means of the present invention.

For the purposes of illustration, I have disclosed herein a sewing machine embodying my invention which is adapted to sew hooks l5 and eyes It to a portion of a garment H, as best shown in Figure 13. The portion of the garment ll illustrated comprises two cloth strips 18 and [9 which serve to join two panels of a foundation garment. The hooks iii are located in predetermined positions on the strip l8 and the bar-like portions 29 of the hooks are fastened to the material by means of stitches 2|. The eyes It are 10- cated upon the strip IS in positions such that the eyes IE will register with the hooks l5 for cooperation therewith to secure the strips I8 and [8 together when the latter are arranged in juxtaposition. Suitable stitches 22 secure the bar-like portions 23 of the eyes l6 to the strip i9. It will, of course, be understood that the present invention contemplates securing other types of'fastening elements, such as buckles, clasps, buttons, etc., to various types of garments and the like.

To secure the hooks and eyes |6 to the garment H, a sewing machine 24, Figure 1, is used, comprising a base 25 and a head 26. The head 26 carries a needle 21 which is adapted to be reciprocated transversely, as well as vertically, and which cooperates with a suitable bobbin (not shown) in the conventional manner. The garment I! is positioned upon the reciprocable carriage 28 which is adapted to be longitudinally reciprocated in ways 29 upon the base 25 by suitable means (not shown) in timed relation to the transverse and vertical reciprocation of the needle 21. The portions of the sewing machine described above are conventional in sewing machines of the type adapted to sew on hooks, eyes, buckles, etc. The throw of the transverse reciprocation of the needle 21 is predetermined to enable the machine to form stitches extending on opposite sides of the bar-like portions 20 and 23 of hooks l5 and eyes |6 respectively, and the simultaneous longitudinal reciprocation of the carriage 28 enables the stitching to traverse the desired length of the bar-like portions of the fastening elements. The machine is adapted to operate in a complete cycle which includes one complete reciprocation of the carriage 28%, and, consequently, a double row of stitches are provided for securely fastening the fastening elements to the material.

Figures 1 to inclusive illustrate the attachments utilized for sewing the eyes |6 to the strip of material I9. To insure the proper location of the eyes l6 upon the material, guides 30 and 3| are provided. The guide 36 comprises a stamping having flanges 3| and 32 which are adapted to engage the edges 33 and 34 respectively of the cloth strip 9 to accurately position the latter with respect to the needle 21. Fastening means 35 removably secure the guide 3|] to the forward portion of the reciprocable carriage 28. Secured to the rearward portion of the carriage 28 is an extension plate 36 which has a portion 31 offset laterally from the carriage 28. The guide 3| is carried by the portion 31 of the plate 36, having an extension 38 secured to the plate by the fastening elements 39. The guide 3| has flanges 46 and 4| adapted to engage the edges 34 and 42 respectively of the cloth strip H! for positioning the latter with respect to the needle 21. It will be apparent from the foregoing that the guides 30 and 3| enable the strip I9 to be positioned in two different positions to enable a pair of spaced eyes l6 to be attached thereto.

Means are provided for supporting an eye 6 adjacent the strip l9 and in registration with the needle 21. In the embodiment shown herein, this means comprises a feeding device 43. The feeding device 43 includes a revoluble turret holder 44 having a plurality of angularly spaced jaws 45 adapted to hold eyes I6. The turret holder 44 is pivotally mounted at 46 and may be rotated by the operator to successively move the eyes !6 into position for attachment to the material. The pivot 46 for the turret holder 44 is carried by a bracket 4'! supported upon the carriage 2:3 and adapted to be rockable with respect thereto. Secured to the forward end of the carriage 28 by the fastening means 35 is a plate 48 having the blocklike portion 49 at one end thereof. The blocklike portion 49 is provided with a bore 56 in which a cylindrical member 5| is positioned. A suitable washer 52 and stud 53 at one end of the cylindrical member 5| prevent longitudinal movement thereof and a stud 54 secures the flange 55 of the bracket 4'! to the opposite end of the cylindrical member 5|. The end of the bracket 47 remote from the flange 55 is provided with the depending portion 56 adapted to bear against the base 25 of the sewing machine. As best seen in Figure 6, the depending portion 56 has an arcuate lower edge 51, the center of curvature of which coincides with the axis of the cylindrical member 5|. It will now be apparent that the bracket 41 is adapted to rock about the axis of the cylindrical member 5| and, inasmuch as the turret holder 44 is pivotally mounted upon the bracket 41 by means of the stud 58 and the spring washer 53, it follows that the jaw 45 of the turret holder which is in registration with the needle 21 is adapted to be rocked toward and away from the material to compensate for material of varying thicknesses.

The turret holder 44 is illustrated in disassembled relation in Figure '7 and, as shown, comprises a plate 66 provided with angularly spaced arms 6| having recesses 62 at their outer ends. Positioning members 63 are secured adjacent the upper surface of the arms 6| of the turret holder and have outwardly extending tongues 64 adapted to engage opposite portions of the eyes l6 and the recessed portion 65 having a configuration conforming to an intermediate portion of the eyes l6 to position the latter upon the turret holder 44. Spring plates 66 are placed above the positioning members 63 and have outwardly extending tongues 61 adapted to overlie portions of the eyes |6 to retain the latter upon the turret holder. The plate 66, the positioning members 63 and the spring plates 66 are secured together by means of fastening elements 68. It should be noted at this time that the positioning members 63 are provided with slots 69 to permit adjustment thereof to compensate for slight variations and inaccuracies in manufacture and to enable the eyes l6 to be accurately located relative to the needle 21. The thickness of the positioning members 63 is approximately the same as the thickness of the eyes |6 thereby enabling the eyes to be rigidly held between the plates 60 and the spring plates The feeding device 43 enables the eyes l6 to be rapidly fed into operative position for attachment to the material and results in a considerablc saving of time. Heretofore the finished work had to be removed before another fastening element could be moved into operative position. With the present invention, however, the operator may insert an eye into a jaw 45 of the turret holder 44 while the machine is sewing another eye, supported in another jaw of the turret holder, to the material. Upon completion of the sewing operation, the material can be moved to a new position and the turret holder rotated by the operator to bring another jaw and the eye supported thereby into operative position. Inasmuch as these operations may be done simultaneously, it will be apparent that no time is lost in moving an eye into position to be sewed to the material. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the turret holder 44 comprises four equally spaced jaws 45, although it will be understood that any desired number of jaws may be provided. As shown in Figure 3, the eye l6 in the jaw is supported in the jaw 45a in position to be sewed to the material and the jaw 45b diametrically opposite from the jaw 45a extends outwardly at the side of the machine to enable an eye to be readily inserted therein by the operator. Rotation of the turret holder 4'4 in a clockwise direction will move the eye I6 in the jaw 450 into operative position for sewing the eye to the material and will also move the empty jaw 45d to the side of the machine to enable the operator to insert a new eye therein.

The reciprocable slide 28 is provided with an elongated slot Id through which extends a stationary plate II provided with a slot I2. The forward end of the slot 12 is widened, as at 13, to permit the transversely reciprocating needle 2'! to pass therethrough and to cooperate with a suitable bobbin (not shown) positioned beneath the stationary plate II. In the initial starting position of the machine, the eye IS in the jaw 25a of the turret holder is positioned centrally of the widened portion 13 of the slot I2. It will also be noted that initially the eye I6 is positioned with the needle 21 adjacent the forward end E i of the bar-like portion 23 of the eye. When the operator starts the machine (by a suitable control), the carriage 23 moves in the direction of the arrow It's, Figure 3, and the needle 21 reciprocates vertically and transversely forming stitches 22 straddling the bar-like portion 23 of the eye. When the carriage is moved in the direction of the arrow I a distance predetermined by the length of the stitching desired, the direction of movement of the carriage reverses, returning the latter to its initial position, at which time the machine is automatically stopped. Inasmuch as the turret holder supporting the eye It is carried by the carriage 28, it will be apparent that a double row of stitches are formed securely fastening the eye It to the material.

The material is clamped in position upon the carriage 28 by means of a bracket 15 secured to the forward ends of the furcations 16 of a rockably mounted plate TI. 8 and 9, the plate I! is secured to a plate I8 which, in efiect, forms a continuation thereof and which is rockably mounted upon the transverse pivot 19 carried by the lateral extension 31 of the carriage 28. The bracket I5 is normally urged into clamping engagement with the material by means of a spring 86 supported in termediate the head 3i of a stud 82 and a plate 83. The stud 82 is adjustably mounted in a stud 84, the latter being secured to a plate It!) mounted on the extension 37 of the reciprocable carriage. The plate 83 is secured to the plate I! at the junction of the furcations 16 by means of the fastening elements 85.

Movement of the bracket It away from the material and against the action of the spring 89 is eiTecte-d by the operator by means of the construction shown in Figure 10. The foot pedal 88 is connected by means of a chain 8? to an arm 88 having its opposite end pivotally connected at 89 to the stationary portion 92 of the sewing machine. A link 9! is pivoted to the arm 33 intermediate the ends thereof and has a stem 52 at its lower extremity passing through an aperture 93 provided in a plate 94 attached to the base 25 of the machine to guide the link ti in a generally vertical direction. Intermediate the ends of the link 9| is a cap 95 which forms a support for a stub shaft 95. A roller bearing 9'! is rotatably mounted upon the end of the shaft As shown in Figures 2,

9.6 and is arranged to engage the end 98 of the plate I8. Depression of the foot pedal 86 by the operator causes the roller bearing 91 to move the portion 98 of the plate 18 downwardly, thereby rocking the plates TI and I8 about the transverse pivot 79 and raising the bracket 75 from the material, permitting the finished material to be removed and a new piece to be inserted. The bracket 15 is provided with serrations 99 on the bottom thereof engageable with the material to effectively clamp. the latter to insure movement of the material with the carriage.

Means are provided for adjustably mounting the pivot l9 about which the plates I? and I8 are rockable. In detail, a plate I is positioned for movement upon the lateral extension 3'! of the carriage between the ways It}! and I82, the latter being secured to the carriage. The plate IE9 is provided with slots H13 and is clamped in any desired adjusted position by means of fastening elements I 54. At one end of the plate IE0 is an upright flange 565 in which is journaled the shaft I66. Depending from the plate 78 is a yoke portion It'i pivotally mounted upon the ends of the shaft I85. The construction described above permits the bracket 15 to be adjusted longitudinally relative to the carriage 28.

The bracket I5 functions not only as a clamp, but also as a support for the shearing mechanism IE8. Secured to the underside of the bracket are plates HES and i ii], Figure 4. The plate N39. is cut away at I iI to provide clearance for the blades H2 and I53 and also to form a cutting edge H4 adapted to cooperate with the blade II3 to sever the thread extending from the top of the material at the end of the sewing operation. Th blades [I2 and H3 are keyed to a shaft H5 and are angularly offset with respect to each other. The upper blade II2 functions to catch the thread between its forward edge Hi5 and the portion II! of the bracket I5. The thread is then held taut and upon further rotation of the shaft M5 the blade H3 cooperates with the edge I M to sever the thread.

The shearing mechanism is operated by means of a crank arm H8 secured to the shaft H5 and actuated by means of a connecting rod Ila As best seen in Figure 2, a tension spring H5 i connected between a collar I2I secured on the rod H9 and a flange I22 at the outer extremity of a bar I23 secured to the plate I8. Th spring I26 normally maintains the blade I it against the stop I24 in an inoperative position. An aperture is provided in the flange I22 on the bar I23 through which the connecting rod H9 extends. The rearward end I 25 of the connecting rod is adapted to be engaged by the flattened end portion I26 of a rod I21 which is pivoted to the base of th machine at I28 and which has a handle I29 for actuation by the operator. A. spring I25 maintains the rod I21 in engagement with the end of the rod I I9.

To sever the thread at the completion of the sewing operation, the operator moves the handle I29 in the direction of the arrow ass, Figure 2, swinging the blades H2 and H3 in a counterclockwise direction about the shaft lid. This swings the blades H2 and H3 beyond the thread depending from the needle El and upon release of the handle I29 by the operator, th sprin iifi causes the blades to be moved in a clockwise direction, thereby catching and severing the thread.

In Figures 11 and 12, I have illustrated my invention as adapted to sew hooks I5 to the cloth strip I8. It will be noted that th turret holder 44 has been replaced by a turret holder I3I adapted to support the hooks I and feed the latter into operative position. The turret holder I 3I is similar in construction to the turret holder 44, with a few minor exceptions. The arms I32 are necessarily longer since th hooks I5 are sewed to the material in a position reverse to that of the eyes I6. The positioning plates I33 have tongues I34, the latter being narrowed in width at their outer extremities to form shoulders I35 serving a stops to position the hooks I5 upon th turret holder. Spring plates I36 having cuts or slits I 31 forming spring fingers I38 are secured to the positioning members I33. The spring fingers I38 engage the upper surface of the hooks I5 to firmly hold the latter upon the turret holder.

In order to provide clearance for th laterally extending return-bent portion I39 of the hook I5, the bracket I5 is provided with an additional plate III}, and the plates I89 and H9 are cut away at I49, thereby forming a recess and adapting the bracket I5 for use with fastening elements having laterally extending portions, as well as with fastening elements which are substantially fiat.

To properly position the material relative to the needle 21, the clamps 36 and 3| are removed and a clamp I M having a longitudinally ex tending bar I42 is secured to the reciprocable carriage by the fastening element 35. As shown in Figure 12, the guide member I43 is provided to enable the operator to position the material in such a manner as to insure proper registration of the hooks I5 and eyes,I6. The guide member I43 comprises a rod having the portion I44 adjustably secured in an aperture I45 in the head 26 of the sewing machine by means of a set screw I46, and a downwardly depending portion I4I adapted to be registered with an eye I6 on the strip I9. By positioning the strip I8 with the edge I48 thereof in engagement with the bar I42 of the guide I4! and moving the material longitudinally until the eye I6 on the strip I9 is in registration with the depending portion I41 of the guide member I43, the strip I8 will be properly positioned and the hook I5 will be sewed to the material in a location complementary to that of the eye I6, insuring registration of the hook I5 with the eye I5 when the strips I8 and I9 are placed in juxtaposition.

Operation To attach the hooks I5 and eyes I6 to the portion of the garment II, as shown in Figure 13, the operator depresses the pedal 85, rocking the plates IT and I8 about the transverse axis I9 and raising the bracket I5 against the action of the spring 89. The material is then positioned upon the carriage 28 with the edges 33 and 34 of the strip I9 in engagement with the flanges 3| and 32 of the clamp 39, and the turret holder 44 is rotated to move one of the jaws 45 carrying an eye I6 into operative position with respect to the needle 21. The foot pedal 86 is then released and the bracket I5 clamps the material to the carriage. The operator next actuates the starting switch (not shown) of the sewing machine which automatically reciprocates the carriage longitudinally and simultaneously reciprocates the needle 21 transversely and vertically to stitch the bar-like portion 23 of the eye to the material with a double row of stitches. The operator then inserts a new eye I6 into the jaw 45b of the turret holder 44 from the side of the machine while the eye in the jaw 45a is being sewed to the material. As previously mentioned, the machine automatically stops at the completion of the complete reciprocation of the carriage and the handle I29 is then moved in the direction of the arrow I39 and then released to cause the blades H2 and H3 to sever the thread extending from the top of the material.

The foot pedal 86 is again depressed to raise the clamping bracket I5 from the material, and the operator then moves the material so that the edges 34 and 42 of the strip I9 engage the flanges 43 and M of the guide SI, and simultaneously revolves the turret holder 44 to move the jaw 45c and the eye I8 carried thereby into operative position. The remainder of the above described process is repeated to sew the eye to the material and sever the thread.

In order to facilitate production, a large number of eyes I6 may be sewed to strips I9 before making the changes necessary to enable the machine to sew the hooks I5 to the strips I8. To effect the latter operation, the turret holder 44 is replaced by the turret holder I3I and the guides 36 and 3| are replaced by the guide MI. The material is positioned upon the reciprocable carriage 28 with the edge I48 of the strip I8 in engagement with the bar I42 of the guide I4I and the strip is moved longitudinally to register the eye It with the portion I4I of the guide member I 43. With these exceptions, the procedure followed in sewing the hooks I5 to the strip I8 is identical to that used in sewing the eyes I6 to the strip I9.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a construction adapted to facilitate the sewing of hooks, eyes and other fastening elements to garments or material of various types.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a sewing machine for sewing hooks to material, a plate adapted to support the material, means for supporting a hook adjacent the material, a bracket supported above the material and the hook, and a cutter carried by said bracket, said bracket having a recess therein to provide clearance for the laterally extending part of the hook.

2. In a sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material, a plate adapted to support the material, means for supporting a fastening element adjacent the material, a clamp for holding the material on the plate, a cutter on said clamp, resilient means for holding the cutter in inoperative position, and means for tripping said cutter to sever the thread above the material.

3. In a sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material, a movable carriage, a bracket, a rotatable member pivoted to said bracket intermediate the ends of the latter, said rotatable member being adapted to hold a plurality of fastening elements, a pivotal mounting between one end of said bracket and said movable carriage, and a segmented arcuate bearing portion at the other end of said bracket, said pivotal mounting and said arcuate bearing portion being arranged to permit pivotal movement of said bracket about an axis generally transverse to the axis of said rotatable member to permit movement of a portion of said rotatable member toward and away from the material.

4. In a sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material, a plate adapted to support the material, a bracket, a rotatable member pivoted to said bracket and adapted to hold a plurality of fastening elements, means for pivotally mounting said bracket to permit movement of a portion of said rotatable member laterally toward and away from the material, a clamp supported above said rotatable member for movement laterally toward and away from the latter, and means for urging said clamp toward said rotatable member to force the latter against the material and clamp the material against said plate.

5. In a sewing machine, a plate adapted to support material, a clamp for holding the material on the plate, a cutter movably mounted upon the clamp, a reciprocating needle positioned adjacent the clamp, means for moving said cutter to a position adjacent the thread depending from said needle, and resilient means for moving said cutter transversely of the thread to sever the latter.

6. In a sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material, a plate adapted to support the material, means for supporting a fastening element adjacent the material, a clamp for holding the material on the plate, a cutter pivotally mounted on said clamp, a reciprocating needle positioned adjacent the clamp, a stop for said cutter determining the inoperative position of the latter, means for swinging said cutter from its inoperative position adjacent said stop to a position on the opposite side of the thread depending from said needle, and a spring operatively connected to said cutter to move the latter transversely of the thread to sever the latter and to move the cutter to its inoperative position adjacent said stop.

7. A sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material comprising a reciprocating carriage, a base, a bracket, a rotatable member pivoted upon said bracket intermediate the ends of the latter, said rotatable member being adapted to hold a plurality of fastening elements, a pivotal mounting between one end of said bracket and. the reciprocating carriage and an arcuate bearing portion at the other end of said bracket engageable with said base, said arcuate bearing portion having its center of curvature in alignment with the axis of the pivotal mounting at the opposite end of the bracket and permitting pivotal movement of said bracket about an axis generally transverse to the axis of said rotatable member to permit movement of a portion of said rotatable member toward and away from the material.

8. In a sewing machine for sewing fastening elements to material, a pivotally mounted feeding device comprising a plate for supporting a plurality of fastening elements, a plurality of angularly spaced members serving as stops to position the fastening elements on said plate, and. means for individually adjusting each of said stop members toward and away from the axis of the feeding device.

FRED M. LEE. 

